DALLAS — When you see incidents of harassment, it can be hard to step in.
"Some folks literally freeze and don't know what to do. Some folks might be afraid that if they try to intervene or say anything, it might come back on them," said Jorge Arteaga.
Arteaga is the deputy director of Hollaback!, a nonprofit social justice organization.
Since 2012, Hollaback! has hosted bystander intervention workshops.
The organization partnered with Asian Americans Advancing Justice when the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020. They created a workshop catered to stopping Anti-Asian harassment.
It's called the Bystander Intervention To Stop Anti-Asian/American Harassment and Xenophobia Workshop. The training teaches Hollaback's 5 D's of bystander intervention methodology:
Distract - Take an indirect approach to de-escalate the situation. For example, start a conversation with the target or find another way to draw attention away from them. Ask them for directions or the time, or drop something.
Delegate - Get help from someone else. Find someone in a position of authority, like a bus driver, flight attendant, security guard, teacher or store manager, and ask for assistance. Check in with the person being harassed and ask them if they want you to call the police.
Document - Record the incident or even take notes in detail. It can be helpful for the person targeted to have video of the incident, but check local laws about recording in public. Give the documentation to the person so they can decide what to do with it.
Delay - After the incident is over, check in with the person who was harassed and find out how you can help.
Direct - Assess your safety before being direct. If it is safe, speak up about the harassment, be concise and do not go back and forth. Then, focus your attention back on the person in harm's way.
Over the pandemic, 16,000 people completed Hollaback!'s one-hour bystander intervention training.
However, registrations skyrocketed after the shootings in Atlanta that killed eight people at three Asian businesses. Around 45,000 people registered in the last week. Of that number, 15,000 have been newly trained.
More dates and times were added due to high demand.